Skin tests were performed with extracts of D. pteronyssinus, D. farinae and Turkish and Spanish house dust on 189 asthmatic children and 33 non-allergic controls. Of the asthmatic children, 91.53% exhibited a positive reaction to the Spanish house dust extracts, 70.37% to Turkish house dust, 77.25% to D. farinae and 66.14% to D. pteronyssinus. Positive reactions to D. farinae extract were obtained more frequently than to D. pteronyssinus (p < 0.02). A very close antigenic relationship between D. farinae and D. pteronyssinus extract was observed (r = 0.737). Skin testing showed a good correlation between the allergenicity of Turkish house dust and D.farinae (r = 0.526, p < 0.001). A weaker although still highly significant correlation was found between the reactions to Turkish house dust extracts and D. pteronyssinus (r = 0.475, p < 0.001). These results suggest that these mites are the important allergens in house dust for asthmatic children in Turkey.

Keywords: asthma in children, Dermatophagoides, house dust antigen, skin tests